Health information technology on display at Texas Primary Care Coalition’s Electronic Health Records Conference

By Jonathan Nelson

If you missed December’s Electronic Health Records conference in The Woodlands, you will have another chance this spring. Physicians in attendance raved so much about the conference that another is in the works.

The central message of the meeting was this: If you’re interested in purchasing an electronic health records system for your practice, do your homework now to learn what is available, how to make the right selection and how to plan for a successful implementation. The one-day conference featured an expert panel discussion with a question and answer session, small group break out sessions and plenty of time for demonstrations in the packed exhibit hall.

Dorma Kohler, M.B.A., C.M.P.E., one of the conference speakers on the morning’s expert panel discussion crystallized the theme saying, “Educate yourself. You don’t know what you don’t know.” Kohler spearheaded the implementation of a system-wide EHR at West Texas Medical Associates before becoming the CEO of the Diagnostic Clinic of Houston, where she is now in the midst of planning another transition to EHR. She congratulated the crowd for spending a Saturday on such an important topic, commenting that five years ago, an EHR conference would not have drawn so much physician participation.

The Texas Primary Care Coalition sponsored the event. Among the 150 attendees were members of the three associations comprising the coalition: TAFP, Texas Pediatric Society and Texas Academy of Internal Medicine Services. They were joined by a variety of other specialists, health care providers and clinic office managers from across the state.

David Kibbe, M.D., director of the AAFP Center for Health Information Technology presided over the panel discussion as Kohler and the other panelists described their experiences abandoning paper records and integrating technology into their practices. Robert Youens, M.D., a family physician in private practice and TAFP member from Weimar, Texas called the time predating his clinic’s transition to EHR “The Dark Ages.” The transition was hard on his staff, so he suggested providing lots of preparation, education and encouragement. Youens said all is well at the clinic, now that they’ve entered “The Age of Enlightenment.”

Another panelist suggested EHR shoppers should put prospective systems through a rigorous test. “Try to break them,” said Joseph Schneider, M.D., vice-chair of the American Academy of Pediatrics Steering Committee on Clinical Information Technology. “Take your 12-year-old with you so he can click all the buttons.” Most of the systems on the market are relatively young. Vendors need educated buyers and users to help work out the bugs and make the technology smarter, Schneider said.

That afternoon, attendees learned about financing options for large capital expenditures, how to plan for a successful EHR implementation, and what pitfalls to avoid when reviewing EHR contracts and service agreements.

“What this is about is empowerment,” said Michael Uretz, executive director of the EHR Group in Issaquah, Wash., who led the contract discussion. Of course you should try to negotiate cost when purchasing an EHR, but Uretz says many physicians don’t negotiate the details of their contracts and service agreements.

Attendees crowded around booths as they watched demonstrations of several EHRs and practice management systems on display in the conference exhibit hall. Among the companies represented were: A4 Health Systems; Altex Business Solutions; Bank of America; ChartWare, Inc.; Companion Technologies; eClinicalWorks; e-MDs; GE Healthcare; iMedica; Integrated Outcomes; Mysis; NextGen; Noteworthy Medical Systems; Physician Micro Systems, Inc.; Pulse Systems, Inc.; and WebMD.

To say the evaluations TAFP received from the attendees were glowing would be an understatement. There is clearly a need and desire for more hands-on, expert-led educational opportunities on this subject. The Academy has already scheduled another EHR conference, this one in Irving on April 16, 2005. Check TAFP’s Web site at www.tafp.org for information and to register.

ANNOUNCING: TAFP’s next Electronic Health Records Conference, April 16, 2005